Ever since it was revealed that the upcoming London theatre production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would feature Noma Dumezweni, a black woman, as Hermione Granger, racist fans of the highly successful series have voiced their opinions. And, the author of the Harry Potter series has had enough.
J.K. Rowling has been supportive of the casting and has addressed trolls before.
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She told the Observer, “With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot. But what can you say? That’s the way the world is. Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job.” And, back in December, Rowling made it quite clear that she never specified the race of the character.
Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione 😘 https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015
Even Emma Watson, the actress who played Hermione in the films, supports Dumezweni’s casting.
Can't wait to see Noma Dumezweni as Hermione on stage this year. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #harrypotterandthecursedchild #2016
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) January 2, 2016
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Vanity Fair reports that while racists are up in arms over the decision to have a black actress play the role on stage, Dumezweni’s resume speaks for itself. Just one look at her list of accomplishments proves that she was a stellar choice for Hermione. She won the Olivier award in 2006 for her role in Raisin in the Sun and in November she replaced Kim Cattrall in Linda, receiving rave reviews for her performance.
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“I had a bunch of racists telling me that because Hermione ‘turned white’ – that is, lost colour from her face after a shock – that she must be a white woman, which I have a great deal of difficulty with,” said Rowling, “But I decided not to get too agitated about it and simply state quite firmly that Hermione can be a black woman with my absolute blessing and enthusiasm.”
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